Tuffy’s Pet Foods, Inc. of Perham, MN is voluntarily recalling specific lots of 4 lb. bags of Nutrisca Chicken and Chick Pea Recipe Dry Dog Food because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Tuffy’s manufactured the product for Nutrisca.

Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers. Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. No Salmonella-related illnesses in people or animals have been reported to date in association with these products.

The recalled product was distributed in the 4 lb. bags nationwide to distributors, brokers, retail stores, and internet retailers. The recalled product is limited to Nutrisca Chicken and Chick Pea Recipe Dry Dog Food in 4 lb. bag sizes, bearing UPC Code “8 84244 12495 7” (found on lower back of the bag). Products included in the recall are identified by the below first 5 digits of the Lot Code (found on upper back of the bag) and “Best by Dates” (found on upper back of the bag). No other bag sizes or other Nutrisca dog food, cat food, biscuits/treats, supplements or other products, are affected by this announcement.

The recall was initiated after a routine sampling program by the Ohio Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of Salmonella in one 4 lb. bag of product. The company is coordinating this voluntary recall with the FDA, and is issuing the recall action out of an abundance of caution.

Consumers who purchased the 4 lb. bags of the dry dog food product subject to the voluntary recall (as identified above) should stop using the product, discard it in a safe manner (example, a securely covered trash receptacle), and contact Nutrisca at the number below for further information.

DEJA VU!!!!!!!!!!
Two years ago my dog contracted salmonella poisoning from this food. My dog had been very sick in and out of the hospital for several weeks with all the symptoms of salmonella poisoning before THE FIRST RECALL. The recall was voluntarily recalling specific lots of 4 lb. bags of Nutrisca Chicken and Chick Pea Recipe Dry Dog food.

In the beginning of the recall only the 4 pound bag manufactured during a two week period in one plant were include in the recall. I contacted the pet food company immediately. I explained that it was the same formula as the recalled food but in a larger bag and missed the expectation date of the recalled food by two weeks. Even after describing my dog’s symptoms including decal hospitalizations they insisted that no dogs had become ill and it was only a precautionary measure. They went to assure me that the food was safe and that I should continue to feed it to my dog. I did not. It took several more months for recall to be expand to include the lot number on my bag of dog food.

Eventually, it expanded way beyond my recall date and bag size, to include several pet food products including treats. For several month after my dog became deathly ill contaminated food/pet products continued to be sold to unsuspecting pet owners. Meanwhile, it took another year of my dog have almost daily bouts of vomiting, gelatinous bloody diarrhea, and three additional hospitalizations for him to be diagnosed with Addison disease. The salmonella poisoning brought on an Addison crisis…which is a whole other story.

PLEASE DO NOT LIMIT THE RECALL IN YOUR MIND TO INCLUDE ONLY THE 4 LB BAG…IF HISTORY REPEATS IT SELF IT MAY PROVE TO BE MUCH LARGER RECALL THEN IT IS INITIALLY, WHICH COULD ENDANGER YOUR PET’S HEALTH.

Your suggestion is correct, “do not limit the recall in your mind,” since as a co-packer, it’s reasonable to expect that this would include other brands that Tuffy’s manufactures pursuant to contract arrangements, at some future date.

I am wondering if this particular recall will spur interest of the public in learning about what contract manufacturing is, in the world of pet food. Very few consumers understand that the brand they buy is not really “made” by the brand they buy.

Cynthia I’m so sorry this happened to you. I always get the glaze over when I try to talk about this bullsh*t that is going on with pet feed. I feed kibble and homemade. I have 6 dogs and now I’m thinking strongly of going entirely homemade. I did not realize that my kibble of choice was being made with other brands! I’m tired of worrying and sick of being lied to.

Thank Terri…..you are very kind. I know how you feel. I gave up on them not worth the worry and guilt I felt for feed him this tainted dog food. He would not eat at first and I thought he was just being picky because it was lower in calories then his previous dog food. Poor dog 🙁

Cynthia, I just read your comment and wanted to let you know that my dog developed full blown Addison’s after being fed the recalled Canyon Creek Chicken Tender Jerky treats from China back in 2012. She had the same symptoms that you described in your dog and was near death when the emergency vet diagnosed her. Now she must be on a daily dose of prednisone and a 25 day injection of percorten for the rest of her life.
We are able to manage her disease with this ongoing and expensive protocol, but she was a very active, healthy and young cattle dog when she became ill after one jerky treat per day for three weeks. I have learned to be a very careful label, manufacturer, and country of origin detective before buying any commercial dog feed/food ever again. Once the problem occurs, good luck getting any corporate entity to accept responsibility. Not buying from them at all is the best way to hold them accountable.

I am sooooo tired of just about every kind of dog food I use seems to be recalled. I’m sick and tired of this. It has to stop. We demand it of our own food–why not for our pets? I spoke with a person from Dogswell and they said it was just the Chickpea and Chicken 4# bag and only the designated few “lots” of production of those bags from that specific production. I feed my dog the Chickpea and Salmon; I was told it was safe and had nothing to worry. I didn’t ask if the CP&S was produced in a different facility and/or a different line than the CP&C. I guess I’m back to home-cooked meals for my dog.

They told me the same thing but then recalled my dogs food three months later. WHAT IF I HAD NOT FOLLOWED MY INSTINCTS and continued to feed him the contaminated dog food? As it was my dog was in and out of the hospital 3 times during this period. He would vomit so hard he would vomit blood and his face resembled bloody jello. I am sorry to be so graphic but this is something you want to avoid. It was terrible to see him wasting away and nothing we did seemed to have lasting results. My advice is to error on the side of caution.

So I’ve just learned that if Tuffy (KLN) shares their manufacturing facility with other brands such as Dogswell then they have the potential to become containinated as well, such as NutriSource which I feed. I’m becoming more and more unsetteled that even this kibble could be exposed to Salmonella. Am I correct on this?

I don’t know originally I was told that only a very small amount tested positive for salmonella. However, this changed several times in the months following. The assured me each time it was a precautionary move to protect our pets. The question is do you believe them? I don’t. Even pet treats made in that factory during this time made it onto the recall list for suspected salmonella contamination, which suggests cross-contamination.6

Cynthia, you have given an excellent example of why we should NOT trust the “limited” recalls of only a few bags.

I think that as soon as a limited recall is made, all products by the same company and co-packer should be suspected. I wonder if you talked to the same employees who assured you your food was safe would be able to give you any decent response to your “I told you so!!!!” (rhetorical question, of course!)
I would really love to see their pants actually on fire, sigh.

I for one will never trust anything by Dogswell. All those jerky treats from China by Dogswell have just told me to run like hell from anything with their name on it.

LOL, me too! Honesty, I don’t think one can trust most of these companies. They are in the business for profit your pet’s health is secondary. Cheap inferior ingredients unsanitary conditions, willfully use of questionable processing techniques, with very limited accountability will continue to put our pets at risk. Either the system/industry has to change or our pets will continue to be st risk. I wonder what would happen if thousands of pet owners boycotted commercial pet food for three moths.

If you really want to get their attention hit them in their pocket book….just a thought.

I feed my dog lamb and chickpea, I opened a new bag on April 29th and within a week she started having severe diarrhea…water consistency. I gave her white rice and boiled chicken and it stopped so gave her more nutrisca and it started again. I decided to google nutrisca online for recalls or complaints and saw they had a recall on the chicken formula. I decided to change her food (no transition to new food) and her poo became normal within a day. I called “consumer relations” at Dogswell, who never answered the phone the three times I called, but did call back. The rep then sent an email asking info about my dog and asking for info from the bag. I answered and she didn’t bother to get back to me. After 4 days I called her back (of course no answer) but did call back. She said they checked and that was not an affected bag. How strange that I open a bag of new food, over the course of a week my dog is squirting water diarrhea, I change her food cold turkey and she’s back to normal. I wish there was an easy way to have the food tested myself.
I suggested to the consumer relations rep that it would be nice to contact an owner back in these situations and that should be part of the role with the consumer relations title. She told me she wore many hats……and then she corrected my pronunciation of her name…….Tara….because that was what was most important to her on our call. Not quite what I expected from a “consumer relations coordinator”.